You're Beautiful
by tiramisuspice
Summary: She thought they'd had a connection. Heck, he'd kissed her. Three times! Had she been wrong? Sequel to You're Cute!
1. Failures

**Alright you wonderful, sweet, awesome people! Here's the sequel to You're Cute! Lots more Riley and The Rebel fun :D** **Riley's such a cutie! And she and Brandon give me life! XD**

 **A/N: You don't** **necessarily** **have to read You're Cute to understand this, but if you want the whole story to make sense, and you haven't read You're Cute, you should probably read it first.  
**

 **Rated K+ for Kleenex**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

Riley skipped down the hallway, an earsplitting grin on her face as she made her way to the detention room. Her little curfew breech and grounding had finally— _finally_ —been lifted after all these weeks so now she was going to execute her perfect plan. Riley giggled to herself, an extra little bounce to her step as she thought about Brandon.

Today was the day.

She was going to march right up to him and… and…

And… demand another favour…

Sure, it wasn't asking him out necessarily, but if this was what it took to go out with him, then that was what she would do.

She squeezed her cheeks bashfully when she could feel them start to flush once again, mentally squealing to herself. She still hadn't gotten over the kiss. Maya had told her she would get over it in a few days, but weeks had passed and Riley could still remember the way he had gazed at her warmly before leaning in. Could still remember how soft his lips had felt and how sweet the kiss had been and…

Okay, now she was sure her whole face was red!

She came to a stop in front of the detention room and peeked inside the window of the door, making sure Brandon was in today. The girl smoking in the bathroom (whose name was Greta, Riley had found out. Apparently she was saving up to travel to Spain!) had told her that he'd gotten into a small scrap with someone during a switch between classes and was awarded detention. And sure enough, there, sitting boredly at his favourite desk was her Rebel.

Riley smiled softly and sighed dreamily as she watched him. Lots of people stayed clear of him because of rumors of his dangerous nature floating around and because they were scared of his dark expressions, but Riley loved his perpetual scowl. She found it super attractive. Along with his dark chocolate brown eyes and tousled hair and half smirk… He was like that perfect bite of that perfect chocolate cake that she'd been dreaming of forever but never had the chance to actually taste. Well, at least until recently.

And then he glanced at the door—where she knew she was staring at him like a creeper—and Riley yelped, ducking down and hiding.

"What are you doing Riley…" she hissed to herself, "Just go in there and speak to him. Stop acting like a nut."

But all of a sudden, she felt kind of shy.

After all, it had been a couple weeks since she'd last seen him in person. Since she'd last gotten kissed on the corner of Bleecker street after that magical night in a whole new world. She'd felt like Princess Jasmine with Brandon, her Aladdin, taking her to a dazzling place she never knew! A new fantastic point of view! Indescribable feelings! No one to tell her no or where to go! Well, except for her dad, who had definitely put a stop to that by grounding her...

"Riley focus…" she muttered to herself, slapping her cheeks once to get it together.

A teacher walked by, staring at her funny. No doubt she looked strange, blushing to her roots and slapping her face and sitting in front of the detention room door.

Brandon had seen her. She couldn't just sit in front of this door crumpled up like this forever. So with a deep, calming breath, she channeled her inner Maya and rose to her feet. She let out the deep breath and pushed the door open, walking in with her head held high.

"Matthews." He said in amusement, "I was wondering when you would come in."

She opened her mouth to speak.

And then closed it when no words came out.

She had no idea what to say! She was trying to think of something witty or cute or amusing, but the only thing she could think to do was ask him what he had for breakfast. And that would not be conducive to proper conversation. He'd probably think she was a little weirdo.

He rose a brow when she just stared at him, wide eyed and a little fidgety.

"Something the matter?"

"I uh… I have another favour to ask." she ran a hand through her hair. "My brother Auggie's birthday is coming up in a month and I wanted to give him something special like a cute fireworks display or something like that so that he can have one dedicated to him because he really loves fireworks, but consumer fireworks are banned without a permit so I was wondering if you could maybe find some way to make that display?"

"Sure." he said, "No problem."

"Thank you so much! What can I do in return?"

"Nothing."

And Riley stood there for a second, brows slightly furrowed. That hadn't been the answer she'd been expecting _at all_.

"Wait. You're doing this one for free?"

"Yeah."

"But…" She didn't _want_ him to do it for free. She wanted him to ask her out again. "It's a pretty big request."

"Don't worry about it Matthews. This one's on me."

"A-are you sure? I mean, I would be happy to have a proper exchange. I'm free this week. I'm not grounded or anything. You know… schedule completely open?"

Brandon stood up slowly from his desk, eyeing the clock before he turned to Riley with a small upward quirk of his lips.

"Good to know."

"O-okay…" She blinked at him in total confusion, completely not understanding what was going on.

"See you around Matthews."

Then he winked as he left the detention room, leaving only the trail of the scent of his cologne and a frowning and baffled Riley, standing stalk still, looking at the place he had just been in shock.

He hadn't wanted an exchange.

The whole purpose of Riley's plan had failed. _She_ had failed. Big time.

And on top of that he didn't ask her out.

She thought they'd had a connection. Heck, he'd kissed her. _Three times_! Had she been wrong?

What the heck had just happened?


	2. Ideas

**A/N: Loved the shaken up reactions to Riley's failure to get a date ;)**

 **Thank you for the reviews you guys! I'm really glad you guys decided to tune in for the sequel! I love you XD**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

"So he had no reaction yesterday?" Maya asked, sketching the side of Riley's face in her book, "Not even like a hug or a kiss or something?"

Riley shook her head, coughing into her elbow briefly before swallowing a little tightly.

"I don't get it Maya…" Riley whined, pushing her lunch tray away from her and slumping down on the picnic table, resting her chin on the table, "Does he not want to go out with me anymore? Am I not worth it?"

"You're always worth it." Maya moved some hair out of Riley's face and then continued the sketch her profile.

"So then why didn't he want to go out with me? And just when my grounding got lifted. I was hoping I could commemorate it with a date…"

She coughed again, a thin, dry sound that made Maya's brows furrow.

"You okay?" Maya asked, a brow rising. "You've been coughing all day."

"I'm fine." Riley cleared her throat, rubbing it a bit to try to get rid of that scratchiness. "I just don't understand why he didn't want an exchange."

"I don't know, Riley." Maya sighed, setting her sketchbook onto the table and swatting some bugs flying around Riley's food away. "What did his face look like when he responded?"

"I don't know?" Riley shrugged dejectedly, "Scowl-y with a hint of a smirk and a dash of amusement?"

There was a snort behind them, and they both looked over their shoulders to see who it was. Justyn was standing behind them, shoulders shaking in amusement, an unlit cigarette in between her lips.

"Justyn." Riley blinked in surprise. "How long have you been behind us?"

"Long enough." She snorted again, bringing her lighter up to her cigarette and lighting the butt with a flick of the spark wheel. "You're talking about Brandon right?"

Riley's eyes lit up as Justyn sat across from them.

"Yes! We are! You're his friend. Why didn't he ask me out again?"

She shrugged, taking a long drag before letting it out slowly. "Beats me. No one really knows what goes on inside that head of his. He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants."

Riley's lips settled into a disappointed pout, and she sighed. That didn't help her at all. In fact, it supported her suspicions that he wasn't interested in her. If he did whatever he wanted, then that meant he had wanted to take her out back then. Which only made it more obvious that he wasn't interested in taking her out now.

"Maya Hart, right?" Justyn asked, "Saw that art project you did on the stigma on graffiti in the city and how it's no different than street art. Nice job."

"Thanks." Maya said before gesturing to the cigarette, "Aren't you worried about getting caught smoking on school grounds? This school doesn't take infractions lightly."

"Worst thing they'd do is suspend me." Justyn smirked, "I honestly couldn't care less."

Maya nodded, impressed, and then picked up her sketchbook to continue Riley's face.

"After our date, did… you know…" Riley said a little bashfully, "Did Brandon say anything about me?"

"You mean when he bothered to speak at all?" Justyn said amused, an eyebrow raised, "Yeah, he regaled us with saccharine words of how your beauty astounds him."

Riley frowned. "Justyn, I'm serious."

She chuckled, "He _might_ have mentioned kissing you."

Riley's cheeks erupted in a blush, and Maya took her chin, turning her face towards her so she could capture that blush in the right light.

"He talked about kissing me? Did he say good things?"

"Riley." Justyn said, her eyes softening, "If you're so worried about Brandon, why don't you just ask him out yourself?"

Her eyes widened, slightly appalled at the notion. "I-I don't think I could."

"Look." Justyn stubbed out the bottom of her cigarette before sliding it back in her pocket. "You're headstrong; you're confident enough. It's a new age. Why wait for him to ask you out? Take charge and ask him out yourself."

Riley chewed on her lower lip, her brows furrowed uncomfortably. She couldn't possibly ask him out. She was too scared. What if he said no?

Justyn stood up, stretching noisily and then slipping her hands in her pockets. "Just go right up to him and tell him you're going out."

She waved nonchalantly as she sauntered off, and Riley sighed, turning back to Maya, her shoulders slumping.

"Maya…" she whined again. "What do I do?"

"Justyn's right you know?" Maya said, shading in Riley's lips with the sloped edge of the lead, "If you like him, then you should just ask him out yourself. It's just a question. It's just like asking him for a favour."

"But it's one thing to go out with him and a totally other to actually ask him out!"

"Riley. A few weeks ago, you walked straight up to him, told him you needed a favour, and just got it done. You need to be confident. You can do this."

"But that was different." she argued, "Back then, I was trying to get him to—"

And then she paused, her eyebrows rising as she realized what Maya had said.

"Wait… You're right!" Riley smiled widely. "I _can_ ask him out! I've got it!"

"That's good." Maya said, finishing off the drawing and signing the bottom with the date. "So what are you going to say?"

"That's not important right now." She giggled nervously.

Maya's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Riley, and Riley swallowed and averted her gaze, innocently looking at the group of boys tossing around a football near the parking lot of their school.

"Riley… Why does it feel like you're scheming?" Maya stared her down, a brow rising slightly, "Besides, you know what happens when you try to wing what you say. Tongue tied stuttering and then you babble. Do you really want that to happen when you ask him out?"

"I'll be fine Maya!" Riley said, her mood lifted significantly, "I know exactly what I'm going to say."

The bell rang signifying the end of lunch, and Riley grabbed her tray, standing up from the table with a flourish. Maya stood up with her, staring up at her with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what she was hiding.

"Alright, Riley… If you say so."

"I do!" she said excitedly.

They headed back into the cafeteria, and Riley couldn't help but be excited for the end of the school day. Maya had been right. Asking Brandon out would be easy.

It would be just like asking for a _favour_.


	3. Triumph

**A/N: I've gotten a few questions regarding Riley and The Rebel's ship name. I believe it is Briley/Branley? I'm not sure. I actually like Riley and The Rebel as a ship name though hahah xD It's long, but it's got a real ring to it!  
**

 **Guys I'm a Riley LOL. The other day, I ran into someone I thought was cute and literally messed up all my words and then switched languages on him in the middle of our conversation and then I had to physically bite my tongue to stop talking... And as I was trying to scramble away, I accidentally squashed his toes with one of my crutches... I'm pretty sure that's probably the last conversation I'll** ** **ever** have with him again. FAILING AT TALKING FTW**

 **Thank you for reviewing! I appreciate the time you take out of your busy schedules to review this hot mess hahaha XD**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

It was by some sheer stroke of luck that as Riley was heading out of school on an errand to buy some eggs from the grocery store for her mother, she saw Brandon. She honestly didn't know where he usually went after school—aside from his typical venture in detention—so the fact that she'd run into him was something magical in and of its own right. She approached happily, ready to exact out her plan.

It was fate! She was sure of it!

As she got a bit closer, she noticed he was leaning against a tree… talking to a _girl_?

Riley's eyes widened in alarm, and she felt fear crawl down her back. She didn't recognize the girl, but she looked super cool with the tips of her hair dyed pink and a scaffold piercing in her ear. She had a nose ring too, even though facial piercings were against school policy. The girl was gorgeous and wearing leather and then she said something and Brandon chuckled, and Riley's throat tightened.

Was she his type?

Was he more interested in rugged, cool girls than some ditzy clutz?

She could just imagine their conversation, all flirty and giggly like teenagers discovering first love and making immediate plans to go out and be with each other, holding hands and walking down the sidewalk, snuggling on couches, sharing little kisses under the moonlit night while watching the stars and it was so disappointing to her because she had thought she'd had that with Brandon but he probably had never been interested in the first place and was humoring her when he kissed her and now he was going to go out with this amazing looking girl who was just so badass and interesting and Riley would never get to go out with him again because he would be taken and—

She slapped her cheeks when her thoughts started to spiral.

What was she doing? She couldn't just jump to conclusions without assessing the situation.

She turned away to give them some privacy, but when she heard a laugh from the girl, Riley's eyes snapped back to them.

They looked good together. Like a young, flirting rebellious couple that matched each other well. Brandon with his dark, intense nonconformity, and this really pretty girl with her bright, psychedelic defiance.

Riley had long since grown out of her days wanting to change herself at the slightest disappointment, but she could feel it springing up a bit as she watched them converse. She touched her ear absentmindedly. She could look like that too. She could dye her hair pink and get a piercing too (if her dad let her, which he wouldn't). But as she thought that, she shook her head dejectedly, knowing that changing her appearance wouldn't change anything about her personality. If he wasn't interested, he wasn't interested.

The girl laughed again, and Riley felt prickles of irritation. What were they even talking about that was so interesting in the first place anyway? There's no way that it was so amusing that the girl had to keep laughing. The afternoon had become gray, the air a little humid, and Riley wondered if it had anticipated her soured mood.

Almost unconsciously, she started taking steps towards the back of the tree, out of their sight.

"Riley… no." she whispered to herself, "Eavesdropping is bad."

But despite that, she continued walking until she was behind the tree. She leaned over and peeked at them, craning her ears to listen to what they were saying.

"Hey, you know you should totally come over tonight. My brother found this sick vintage cruiser at the junk yard; said he was gonna fix it up and let us ride when he's done. You've got your motorcycle permit right?"

"Yeah." Brandon said, "What time is he going to be working on it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But maybe you should come over earlier. We can just chill."

And Riley's eyes widened. She felt panic rise within her. And then a tickle got in her nose and it twitched. Before she could even think to keep it from happening, she sneezed, loud and abrasive and jarring. And then she sneezed again, this one going all high pitched like a squeal.

When she sniffled and opened her eyes, straightening up from her slight stoop, both of them were staring at her. She returned the stare, wide eyed and absolutely embarrassed. Brandon had a brow raised, and the girl was just watching her curiously, brows slightly furrowed.

"Hey, you uh…" the girl gestured to her general nose area, "You've got some stuff on your face."

Riley squeaked in slight surprise and quickly rummaged through the side pocket of her school bag for her tissue paper. She blew her nose almost frantically, wanting to crawl in a hole and hide. Riley knew her face was almost entirely red. She'd embarrassed herself. Not only did she make herself look like the _snot-monster_ , but she'd been caught eavesdropping no less! This was horrible!

For a quiet moment, Riley just stared at the ground, scuffing her feet in embarrassment, not exactly sure what to say. She had just wanted to speak to Brandon for a _second_ and look at this mess.

The girl sighed, slightly in annoyance. "Clearly she's got something to say. I'll catch up to you later, Brand. Lemme know if you're coming over tonight."

She walked away, and Riley glanced up. Her eyes met Brandon's briefly, and she quickly reverted her gaze to the ground, a blush springing to her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding unaffected.

"Who uh…" Riley began, but then tapered off, not really knowing if it was okay to ask. ' _Who is she_?' Is what she wanted to ask, but there was no way that question would make any sense. She didn't have any claim to Brandon. He wasn't her boyfriend so she couldn't act like a jealous girlfriend. Even though she definitely was. _Jealous_. Not his girlfriend. Clearly.

"We grew up together." he responded, seemingly knowing exactly what she had wanted to ask.

"…are you…" Riley asked a bit quietly, preparing for a possible heartbreak. "…together?"

She held her breath. That _could_ explain why he wasn't interested in going on another date with her. It would upset Riley, but if he was taken, she would respect it and give up.

"She's an ex."

To say Riley didn't feel absolute relief, would have been a total lie. She looked up at him in surprise, knowing her face probably looked really excited, and she felt a little bad, but that meant Brandon was _single._ And she could still carry out her plan!

"So what exactly were you doing behind the tree?"

"I-I was… uh…"

"Spying on me?" Brandon said with a smirk.

A blush came to her face.

"No!" she sputtered indignantly, though she knew he could see right through her lie from the way his smirk grew. "I wasn't!"

"I could hear you breathing, Matthews." He had a brow quirked up in amusement. "So what's on your mind?"

Well it was now or never.

She swallowed and gently nudged a rock with her toe. This was more nerve-wracking than anything she'd asked him before. But she had to do it.

"I-I have another request." Riley said. "Will you go out with me? As a favour to someone?"

"You want me to go out with you as a favour." Riley averted her gaze as he watched her, a knowing smile on his face. "For who exactly?"

Riley could feel herself flushing in embarrassment. He didn't look like he was buying it for a second. She probably sounded like a nut! It had made sense to her after lunch to ask him to go out with her as a favour. It seemed like a good plan back then. But who the heck asked someone out as a favour in the first place?!

"The person who asked for the favour requested that their identity remain anonymous…" Riley mumbled, glancing up nervously.

He chuckled and leaned against the tree, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Alright, I'll bite. What kind of exchange did _'they'_ have in mind if I go out with you?"

"Uh…" she hesitated. She hadn't thought that far ahead! "Th-that's to be determined. But the date is tonight."

Riley used every ounce of her willpower not to grimace. Planning an impromptu date was such a bad idea, not to mention she wasn't really sure where she wanted to go with him, but she knew why she had done it. She just didn't want him to go to the Pretty Pink Haired Girl's place and spend time with her. Some exes didn't always stay exes. Especially if they still spent a lot of time with each other. She felt silly being this jealous, but she liked him. She didn't want him interested in anyone else, even if that wasn't her call.

"Tonight, huh…" he mused, looking like he was having way too much fun with this. "Any particular reason why?"

"I-I didn't decide the day. The person who asked for the favour did." Not technically a lie. Not technically the truth either.

He was silent for a little bit, contemplating her pensively. Riley shifted anxiously in her spot, so close to wringing her hands together, a nervous habit of hers that only sparked up when she was feeling absolute trepidation. Was he going to reject her?

But he sighed and straightened. "Alright Matthews. Where should I meet you?"

"Corner of Bleecker Street? Eleven?"

He nodded, a little smile on his face. "I'll see you then."

Brandon turned to leave, and Riley watched him, excitement bubbling up so rapidly within her that she had to chew on her bottom lip to keep her excited squeals and _yay_ tightly concealed in her body. He was too close. If she let it go right now, he'd hear her.

She'd wait until she got in her room for _that_.

But that didn't mean she couldn't celebrate.

Riley jumped around excitedly hands up in the air like she just didn't care. A handful of students walked by her, giving her confused and amused looks as they passed by, but it didn't bother her.

She had another date with Brandon!

And thinking about it, she realized she knew just where to take him.


	4. Daydreams

**A/N: Next chapter everyone! And now I gotta wash my hair because IT'S GROSS. I always hate the summertime because I'm my laziest... (And hygiene tends to suffer a bit hahaha) Also unrevised. Sorry about that. I got lazy.  
**

 **Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it! Thank you for the support with my vocal blunders lol! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

Riley sneezed, sniffling and blinking when she felt a little disoriented.

She looked up at the sky as she and Brandon climbed the hill in the park near her complex that she was leading them up. The air was much more humid and sticky than it had been when she'd snuck out of her room and met him at the corner of Bleecker a little while ago. Not to mention that most of the sky was hazy with clouds. She honestly hoped it didn't start raining before she got to show him what she wanted to show him.

Riley sneezed again, this one a little more high pitched, and she had to stop walking for a minute, her vision dancing the slightest bit from the force of her sneeze.

"You okay?" Brandon asked in concern.

"Yeah. Probably just allergies."

But her throat was a little more scratchy than it usually was when she had allergies. She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the tickle and then smiled and pointed to the top.

"We're almost there anyway."

Brandon followed her up to the top of the hill. This was her favourite point in the city. She liked to come here and sit and think when being at home got a little tired. It overlooked the Hudson River in the distance. During the day, she could watch boaters travel down the river and the ferry boat rides. Normally, the night time would make the water look ominous and somewhat treacherous, but not that night. That night, it was just mysterious. A little dark, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Riley sat down at the top of the hill and patted the seat next to her with an inviting smile. Brandon sat down next to her, watching the water curiously.

"So where'd you take me?"

"This is my secret spot. But I don't come here to watch the water. I come to watch the stars." She blushed slightly in embarrassment, "I guess I should have checked the weather forecast though. Clouds are covering them."

Brandon let out a little chuckle, staring up at the sky with Riley, trying to see if they could catch any stars hidden behind the clouds. Riley sighed, mentally disappointed that she couldn't show him the best part of her spot.

"How did you discover this place?"

"Well… This one time a while ago I got lost trying to get out of the park to find the subway actually." Riley giggled, tucking some hair behind her ear when it fell onto her face. "So I sat here waiting for Maya to show up to rescue me, and I kind of realized I liked it. It was kind of a weird moment for me, you know? I just was sitting here, looking at the sky and it just hit me: Earth from a different planet might also look like a star. And our galaxy from a different galaxy probably looks like a tiny little star too. And I just realized that there's so much to see out there. So many other galaxies and possibly universes out there and we just live in one very tiny fraction of one universe. It makes me wish I could just go there sometimes. So sometimes I close my eyes and if I dream long enough, I can imagine I'm in a new world. It's weird and doesn't really make sense, but those are the things I think about when I sit here."

And then Riley gasped and snapped her gaze to him, feeling a little self-conscious.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to talk so much!"

But he didn't look bothered by it. Brandon was just watching her pensively, his dark eyes dancing from the light from the flagpole nearby them. His lips were quirked up in something of an impressed smile.

"That's deep."

Riley sighed contentedly, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her forearms on them. "And this is a great place to think. And to write. To observe the world around me."

"Do you come here often to think?"

"Yeah. Despite how clumsy and goofy and, okay, _admittedly_ bubbleheaded I am, I'm not a ditz."

"I never believed you were for a second."

And Riley's breath hitched at his soft words, and she averted her gaze, shyly tucking her loose hair behind her ear, a bashful smile on her lips.

"Oh."

What was this? Her heart was racing so wildly in her chest. She wondered if he could hear her heartbeat from where he sat beside her. That nervous, anxious jittery feeling was starting to crawl into her body once again.

"What made you decide to bring me here?" His tone was just curious, no disparaging depth to it at all.

"You showed me some of your world. So I wanted to show you some of mine."

He nodded, and they fell silent for a bit, staring at the horizon. Riley fought her instinct to start rambling about the first thing her mind came up with and she firmly took hold of her bottom lip in her teeth, forcing herself to keep quiet and not ruin the moment with her goofy gander mouth.

And then Riley felt a droplet of rain on her forehead and looked up at the sky with a soft gasp. Another few more dropped, hitting her arms and then her head once again. The clouds that had been covering up the sky were much darker than before, looking like they were almost right above their heads.

"Looks like it's about to rain." Brandon said nonchalantly, a brow slightly raised as he also watched the sky.

Riley groaned, a pout forming on her face.

"Just great… I literally chose the worst day to ever have an outdoor date and I messed up everything and there weren't even any stars tonight which I really wanted to show you and I know you must think I'm a complete idiot for making such a stupid mess of everything and I don't even know _why_ I messed up so bad and now it's going to rain and you're going to leave and I should have checked the forecast, but I wasn't thinking that at the time because I was so scared and jealous of your really pretty ex and I wanted to keep you from going over to her place so I set the date for tonight and I know it was a terrible thing to do but I don't want to lose you because I'm—"

"Riley."

Riley's eyes widened immeasurably and she spun around to face Brandon in surprise, her hair swinging around her face. That was the first time he'd ever said her first name.

Brandon leaned over, his hand cradling her neck, and pressed his lips softly to hers. Riley's eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her, her heart skipping beats. It was sweet and made her heart warm.

When he pulled away, his face still close, she stared into his eyes, a little dazed.

"Y-you said my name..."

Brandon smiled and gently moved some hair caught on her lips out of her mouth.

"Got a mouthful of hair with that one."

Riley blushed to her roots at how tender the action was. And also because she was always messing up kisses one way or another. He had kissed her again, though. And it had sent her in a tizzy because now she was confused. He hadn't wanted to ask her out before. But he'd kissed her again! What did that mean?

"Brandon…" she started quietly, holding her breath a little anxiously, "Do… d-do you still think I'm cute?"

His gaze softened. "Of course I do."

"Then… why didn't you ask me out again? Did you not want to go out with me?"

"Riley, I didn't want us to go out with each other based on a favour. I wanted you to ask me out because _you_ wanted to go out. Not because I forced you with an agreement."

And Riley felt an elated smile tugging on her lips. It hadn't been because he didn't like her. It hadn't been because he didn't like her! She felt like the heavy weights in her heart had just been lifted off of her chest.

"I never felt forced!" Riley replied emphatically, "I really did want to go with you! I mean, at first I was kind of scared because back then I thought you were _The Rebel_ and I thought I was going to get turned into bread, but when you asked me if I trusted you and I realized I did it stopped being an obligation and I did get curious about it so I never felt forced, I mean, maybe a little _challenged_ because you were kind of making fun of me—"

A loud clap of thunder suddenly cut Riley off, and she jerked in surprise, blinking at Brandon wide eyed. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

And then another clap of thunder opened up the clouds and a torrent of rain crashed down on them. Riley squealed as they were almost immediately drenched in water, the rain pelting them heavily as it cascaded down from the sky.

"Let's go!" Brandon said with a laugh.

They hurried to their feet, and as Riley scrambled to get up, she tripped on her feet where the tie of her sandal got caught on the strap of her other sandal. With a yelp, she almost tumbled forward, but Brandon caught her arms, keeping her steady. Riley looked down at her feet through the haziness of the rain and could see that her shoe was broken.

"My shoe just broke!" she shouted over the roar of the rain, wiping her wet hair out of her face so she could see more clearly, "What do I do?"

Brandon turned around and stooped in front of her. "Get on my back."

"What?" She was a little surprised.

"I'll carry you."

"O-okay."

She picked up the broken shoe from the ground and climbed on his back, the smile on her face one of the brightest she'd ever had. When she was settled and he had his arms firmly under her thighs to support her, he stood up. He was warm and comfortable despite the rain assailing them and his arms holding her up felt strong and protective.

As he walked through the rain back towards her apartment complex, she laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes in bliss.

It hadn't been the best date, but she sure as heck liked the way this had ended.


	5. You're Beautiful

**A/N: Well guys, we come across the last chapter of the sequel :) Thank you for all the support and for taking a chance on a crackship pairing xD I had a lot of fun writing this sequel, and I hope it's been a satisfying addition to the story of Riley and her Rebel! There will be a bonus chapter after this :3**

 **Thank you for taking time out of your days to review! It means a lot to me! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

Brandon carried Riley up the steps of her fire escape, bringing her up to her landing. They were soaked through and through now, and Riley's clothes were sticking to her body and making her feel kind of gross. She could only imagine what it was like for Brandon who not only was soaking wet, but also had to carry her on his back.

"I can climb up the stairs, you know?" she said quietly, feeling a little bad.

"I know."

"I'm heavy..." she muttered halfheartedly, making no attempts to get off his back. It was really comfortable.

Riley felt the vibrations of his chuckle from his back. "You're not."

He carried her all the way through her landing, only finally letting her down off his back when they were outside her bedroom window. She'd made sure to leave her lamp light on before she left so she could get in more easily and thankfully, it was still on, which meant no one had been in her room while she was gone. Riley lifted up her window a tiny crack, making sure it wasn't locked before she straightened back up and faced Brandon. She moved some hair out of her face and when she brought her hand down, that's when she noticed the smear of black makeup on her hand.

"Is my makeup all over my face?" Riley asked in embarrassment, more to herself than to Brandon.

He nodded. "Yeah, it kind of is."

She knew she should have just borrowed Maya's waterproof stuff. She'd used her cheap brand because she hadn't deemed it necessary to worry about the makeup she chose and now this was the consequence of her actions. This had just been one bad date all around. Why had she made such goofy mistakes?

"I probably look like a drowned rat." Riley giggled awkwardly, though deep down, she wanted to run into her bay window, hide under the covers, and reset the day so she could do it right this time.

Brandon frowned and cut off her train of thought when he placed his hands on her waist, tugging her closer to him.

"You're beautiful, Riley."

Her heart started racing unbelievably fast when he said those words, and she knew her face was firetruck red. No guy had ever said that to her before, and it made butterflies dance in her stomach with reckless abandon.

"Y-you think I'm beautiful?"

Brandon smiled and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers, the rain falling down around them like a curtain. Riley dropped the sandal in her hand and slipped her arms around his neck, her lips parting as they moved with his. It felt more intense this time, her heart ringing in her ears and body shivering though definitely feeling warmth. She threaded her fingers into his hair, rising to her tiptoes to better match his intoxicating kisses. It was everything she'd dreamed of for a kiss in the rain.

Brandon pulled away the slightest bit, and Riley stared up at him, a little lost, a little dazed, and out of breath.

"You've gotten better at this."

"To be honest, I've been practicing on the frosting of my cupcakes at lunch. And with my hand… A lot."

Brandon let out a little snort in amusement and then his gaze softened as he watched her. Riley smiled a little bashfully, something really profound swelling in her chest. She didn't know what the feeling was exactly, but she knew she only felt it with Brandon.

He kissed her softly once more, this one gentle and goosebumps rose up on Riley's arms from the chills that raced down her body.

"I think you should get inside before you catch a real cold." he said once he pulled away.

Riley pouted. She didn't want the date to end yet. She wanted to spend more time with him.

"I'll be fine."

"You're shivering pretty badly." He rose a brow. "Besides, there'll be other dates, Riley."

She was getting ready to protest that she was not, in fact, shivering due to cold, but because she was enjoying the kiss when she realized what he had said.

"Other dates?"

"Yeah. Other dates."

And she felt super giddy and bubbly and lightheaded because he had basically told her he wanted to continue their little dates. Did that mean that they were dating?

"How long are you usually grounded for?" Brandon asked.

Riley frowned in confusion. What was the purpose of that question? "A couple weeks…?"

"Then I'll see you in a couple weeks."

Riley's eyes widened in surprise and disappointment, and she backed away from him a bit, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Why a couple weeks?"

"Because your dad grounded you." Brandon said, gesturing behind her.

With a gasp, Riley looked over her shoulder and was shocked to see her father glaring at them both from inside her window, face completely smushed against the glass and looking like some creepy, demented monster thing. Riley yelped in surprise and broke away from Brandon as if he was on fire.

 _"You're grounded! Again!"_ Cory mouthed through the glass, his voice almost completely drowned out by the roar of the rain. But it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was saying.

Riley knew she was grounded. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was really starting to think her dad had a sixth sense about her breaking the rules.

"I think it's time I left." Brandon said warmly, lightly taking her chin in his fingers.

She sighed dejectedly, "You're leaving?"

"Your dad looks like he's on a warpath." Brandon eyed him, though his expression didn't look particularly concerned about her father possibly coming after him. "When you're not grounded anymore, how about we go somewhere before your curfew so this doesn't keep happening to you?"

"That sounds good." she gushed, knowing her grin was absolutely goofy, but not caring in the least.

"Goodnight Riley." He said softly before dropping a quick kiss on her lips and turning to leave.

Riley watched him go with a happy sigh, dazed and swooning.

 _"Riley!"_

And then she remembered her father was there, and she rushed to get into the bay window after opening it wider. She crawled in, only then realizing just how cold she was when a blast of air conditioning hit her and she started shivering uncontrollably. She was _freezing_.

Riley sneezed a couple times, and then shuddered when chills wracked her body. She probably hadn't felt the cold before because of Brandon's body heat.

"Daddy, are you mad?" she asked a little tentatively when she had closed her window and was standing in front of her angry father. It went without saying that he was mad of course. But she had to ask cutely so it could lower her sentence. (He'd once grounded her for a month when she forgot to act like a youth. She'd never forgotten since).

"Very." But then his frown loosened into worry when Riley sneezed again, sniffling heavily to try to stop the drip from falling from her nose. Cory fretted in concern, grabbing a towel from her shower handle and wrapping it around her. "But you're dripping water everywhere and shivering. And your nose and eyes are _very_ red! Go take a warm shower and then head straight to bed. We _will_ discuss this in the morning."

"Okay…"

Her father left her room, an odd combination of anger and concern on his face, and Riley grabbed her phone and texted Maya.

 _I'm dating Brandon now! We're a thing! At least I think we maybe, probably, kinda are? Maaaayaaaa! I don't know what to do!_

 **x'D what am i going to do with you honey. congrats. and goodnight. we'll talk about this tomorrow.**

 _Maaaayaaaaaaaaaaaa!_

But there was no response.

Riley set her phone on her nightstand with a sigh, knowing Maya really wasn't going to answer until the next day. So she stripped off her wet clothes and dumped them in the hamper before shiver-walking her way to the bathroom. Riley looked at herself in the mirror.

She looked _crazy._ Her hair was stringy and in tangled clumps sticking to her face and head, her makeup was running all down her face and she was as pale as a ghost. Not to mention the Rudolph nose and her red rimmed eyes. And then the snot. Oh, the _snot_. It was terrible! Simply put, she looked like she'd been attacked with tear gas.

Yet, Brandon had still kissed her anyway.

And he'd called her beautiful.

Riley giggled giddily and turned on the water in the shower, letting it heat up to a good temperature while she got her shampoos out of the cabinet.

She didn't quite know what the thing she had with Brandon was exactly, but she knew that she liked it. And she really wanted to see where it went. And based on tonight, she now knew he wanted to see where it went too.

And she had a really good feeling that she'd found something real that would last.

With another giggle, she hopped in the shower, excited for what was in store for her and Brandon in the future.

It was funny how a simple favour had turned into such a wild ride.

And Riley was ready for where it would take her next.


	6. Bonus Chapter!

**A/N: And here's the bonus chapter to officially close out the story :) Thank you for all the love you've given me throughout writing both the 1st and 2nd short story! :3 I appreciate the reviews and the time you took to read each chapter :)**

 **And with this, à tout à l'heure mes chéries!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, because if I did, crack ships would become canon ships... and I guess canon ships would become crack ships? Which I would probably then ship instead... and then make canon, but then the crack ships turned canon ships would become crack ships again and so I'd ship them but then because I would make them canon I would ship the newly crack ship ships which I would make canon... huh.**

* * *

Riley rolled over in her bed feeling heavy and disoriented. She sneezed, sniffling loudly, and then coughed roughly, trying to clear her throat of that scratchiness and rawness inside. Her entire head felt heavy, and there was a pressure weighing down on it.

She groaned, forcing herself up out of bed, though all she wanted to do was sleep off this terrible feeling in her body. She felt really bad. She grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around herself before dragging herself to the living room, coughing raggedly every few seconds or so.

Her mother was standing next to the oven making breakfast when she got into the kitchen.

"Sleep well, sweetie?"

"My throat really hurts…" Riley moaned, her voice coming out hoarse and dry.

"Well, you were out in the rain." Topanga reached up and put her hand on Riley's forehead and then her cheek, "Hmm… You are a little warm. You'll probably have to stay home from school today if you're running a fever. Let me grab the thermometer."

"Okay…"

Riley sighed and plopped down onto the couch, a little disappointed that she wasn't feeling well. She had been planning to maybe spend some time with Brandon after school or maybe during lunch or something. Maybe try to get some answers about _what_ they were. She wasn't entirely sure herself to be honest. But she knew it was real and it was happening and that was enough for her to be excited about seeing him.

Except she was sick. And so seeing him was temporarily put on hold.

Topanga walked back over to her and uncapped the thermometer, checking it to make sure it was on normal temperature before handing it to Riley.

"Put this under your armpit for a bit."

As Riley put the thermometer under her armpit, Cory walked out from the hallway, tying his tie. He froze when he saw Riley, his eyes narrowing as he pointed an accusatory finger at her.

" _You_."

"Cory, please don't do this right now." Topanga said in exasperation, "Riley's not feeling well."

"And you know why? Because she snuck out again last night!" He flung a hand in her direction. "If she hadn't snuck out then she wouldn't have gotten caught in the rain and exacerbated her cold."

Riley sighed, leaning back against the cushions in her bundle under her comforter as she listened to her parents' discussion.

"It's not that big a deal. All teenagers sneak out at some point in their lives."

"Not _Riley_." He argued, "I don't know where this rebellious streak is coming from Topanga! She's gotten _too_ rebellious. She just got out of another grounding and now she's sneaking out again?!"

Auggie came out into the living room, squeezing between his parents, and climbed on the couch next to Riley, still sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"You're sick?" he asked worriedly.

"Looks like it…"

"Are you going to be grounded again?"

Riley nodded, lifting up her arm and Auggie crawled under the covers, snuggling up next to her and leaning his head on her shoulder as they watched their parents discuss what to do with her.

"Can you imagine what it was like for me coming in her room to check on my sleeping daughter only to find her making out with a strange boy on the fire escape?! Next, she'll be getting hickeys on her neck! And then other strange places and then who knows what else after that!"

"Cory, those are all things _we_ used to do. It's a part of growing up. You were a bit rebellious in your teen years too."

"Don't point a finger at me." Cory scoffed. "I've always been the level headed parent. If anything, she got this rebellion from you."

Topanga raised a slightly menacing brow, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her lips pursed in annoyance.

"Or both of us…" he quickly amended, "In any case, I've been too lenient! We need to put bars on her window! Her curfew will be three o'clock now!"

"That's just ridiculous. And Riley finishes school at three. That kind of curfew isn't even plausible."

"No leniency! If it keeps her away from boys, then that's what I'll have to do."

"Cory, calm down." Topanga sighed, walking over to Riley and gently taking the thermometer out from beneath her armpit. "You can't fault Riley for being interested in boys. She's growing up. Puberty is happening. Hormones are haywire. It's not unnatural for her to be interested in someone."

"B-but, he's _The Rebel_! This guy is bound to be dangerous!"

Riley glared at her father. She was fine with him being mad at her and saying whatever he wanted about her, but he didn't know Brandon.

"He's not some dangerous delinquent _rebel_!" Riley said in affront, her voice coming out gravelly. Cory winced at her tone. "His name is _Brandon_ and he's a really nice guy! He doesn't think I'm a ditz and he listens to me and he's showed me that there's more to people than meets the eye. Daddy, I know you're not happy with me sneaking out, but you don't know anything about him so I would appreciate it if you didn't say such disparaging comments about him."

A violent coughing fit wracked her body for a moment, and Auggie rubbed her back as she let it out of her system. Getting worked up dislodged the tickle in her throat and it took her a while before she could breathe somewhat normally.

"And I like him a lot." She added quietly, staring at the carpet.

"Riley, try not to get too worked up. You're running a slight fever." Topanga sat down next to her, brushing hair out of her face. "Honey, we know you like him. Otherwise you wouldn't break curfew and our rules and sneak out to see him. _Twice._ All your father is trying to say is that we don't mind if you want to go out with him, but not if that means that you will be breaking a lot of our rules."

"I'm saying we should forbid her from dating at all!" Cory interjected indignantly.

Topanga shot him a glare and he quieted with a soft yelp.

"Rules are meant to be followed for a reason, sweetie." Topanga continued, smoothing down Riley's hair. "I like that you're breaking out of your comfort zone and your shell, but try not to go overboard, okay honey? There's only so much rule-breaking in this household that will be tolerated."

"Yes Mommy."

"That being said, we're grounding you for a month this time. That means no cellphone for two weeks and Maya can only sleep over two times a week. You are to come home directly after school every day otherwise your father will start driving you home. That fair?"

Riley pouted, though she knew it was a very fair punishment considering she had broken the same rule for the second time in a row.

"It's fair. I'm sorry."

"Thank you for taking responsibility." Topanga leaned in and kissed her forehead. And then she grinned widely and excitedly. "So? Tell me what this Brandon looks like. Is he cute? Is he a good kisser?"

"La la la la la la la la la!" Cory exclaimed, blocking his ears as he stomped out of the room, "I can't hear you!"


End file.
